Forbes' best U.S. cities for tech jobs

By NICK EATON, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 9:27 pm, Monday, November 21, 2011

Silicon Valley, Calif., is the epicenter of the technology industry -- but Forbes ranked it just No. 17 in its new list of the best U.S. cities for tech jobs.

"Though the Valley may still be the big enchilada in terms of venture capital and innovation, it hasn’t consistently generated new tech employment," Forbes said. "This relatively low ranking reflects the little known fact that, even with the recent last dot-com craze sparking over 5% growth over the past two years, the Valley remains the “biggest loser” among the nation’s tech regions, surrendering roughly one quarter of its high-tech jobs — about 80,000 — in the past decade. Only New York City (No. 44) lost more tech jobs during that time."

Silicon Valley, Calif., is the epicenter of the technology industry...

No. 10 -- San Diego

The sunny city saw 0.5 percent job growth over the past decade, including 2.6 percent growth from 2006 to 2011, according to Forbes. Its relatively high concentration of tech jobs lands San Diego on the list at No. 10.

Photo: JenniKate Wallace

No. 10 -- San Diego

The sunny city saw 0.5 percent job growth over...

No. 9 -- San Bernardino-Riverside, Calif.

The San Bernardino valley, east of Los Angeles, saw job growth soar a whopping 21.2 percent from 2001 to 2011, according to Forbes. Anchored by Riverside, the area's tech-job growth has slowed in recent years ... but only to 4.7 percent from 2009 until now.

Photo: Danorth1

No. 9 -- San Bernardino-Riverside, Calif.

The San Bernardino...

No. 8 -- New Orleans

Despite near ruin in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans enjoyed 9.8 percent job growth from 2001 to 2011 -- a rate that has remained consistent in recent years.

The city's "tech base remains relatively small but has expanded its tech workforce nearly 10% since 2009 — the highest rate of any of the regions studied," Forbes said. "With low costs, a friendly business climate and world-class urban amenities, the Crescent City could emerge as a real player, aided by the growing prominence of research and development around Tulane University. There has also been a recent growing presence of the video game industry in the city."

Photo: PhelanRiessen

No. 8 -- New Orleans

Despite near ruin in 2005 due to Hurricane...

No. 7 -- Washington, D.C.

In the other Washington, jobs grew 3.8 percent from 2001 to 2011, with a high concentration of tech jobs, according to Forbes.

Photo: Humbertomoreno

No. 7 -- Washington, D.C.

In the other Washington, jobs grew 3.8...

No. 6 -- Jacksonville, Fla.

Job growth here was 14.6 percent from 2001 to 2011, according to Forbes, including a rate of 5.4 percent in the past five years.

Photo: Don Dearing

No. 6 -- Jacksonville, Fla.

Job growth here was 14.6 percent from...

No. 6 -- Salt Lake City

This city's overall job growth was 3.8 percent from 2001 to 2011, but since 2006 jobs have grown 5.6 percent, according to Forbes. Salt Lake City's ranking was boosted by the presence of a major research university.

Photo: CountyLemonade

No. 6 -- Salt Lake City

This city's overall job growth was 3.8...

No. 3 -- Columbus, Ohio

Jobs here grew at a rate of 16.7 percent since 2006, including 5.5 percent in the past two years, according to Forbes.

"Manufacturing is increasingly prodigious driver of tech jobs; games and dot-coms are not the only path to technical employment growth," Forbes said. "This could mean good news for other Rust Belt cities, such as No. 28 Cincinatti or No. 38 Cleveland, as well as our Midwest standout, Columbus, which could benefit from growth sparked by the local natural gas boom."

Photo: Atalou

No. 3 -- Columbus, Ohio

Jobs here grew at a rate of 16.7 percent...

No. 2 -- Baltimore

In the past decade, jobs have grown here by 18.6 percent, including 15 percent growth since 2006 -- though the rate slowed to 4.2 percent from 2009 to now, according to Forbes.

"Another huge advantage appears to be closeness to the federal government, which expends hundreds of billions on tech products both hardware and software," Forbes said. "This explains why Baltimore, primarily its suburbs, and the D.C. metro area have enjoyed steady tech growth and, under most foreseeable scenarios, likely will continue to do so in the coming years. Both regions have seen large gains in technology services industries, particularly programming, systems design, research, and engineering."

Photo: Ken Lund

No. 2 -- Baltimore

In the past decade, jobs have grown here by...

No. 4 -- Raleigh, N.C.

This Southern city also boasts a major research hub, putting it high on Forbes' list. In the past five years, job growth was 8 percent, according to Forbes.

Photo: Fw_gadget

No. 4 -- Raleigh, N.C.

This Southern city also boasts a major...

No. 1 -- Seattle

You didn't think our city would be left out of this list, did you? Seattle is the best U.S. city for tech jobs, according to Forbes, with 14.4 percent job growth since 2001. From 2006 to 2011, jobs grew at a rate of 15.7 percent, including 4.4 percent since 2009.

"Out of the 51 largest metro areas in the U.S., the Valley’s longtime tech rival has emerged as our No. 1 region for high-tech growth, based on long- and short-term job numbers. Built on a base of such tech powerhouses as Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing, Seattle has enjoyed the steadiest and most sustained tech growth over the past decade," Forbes said.

The presence of the Univeristy of Washington -- a major research university with a strong focus on tech -- helped put the Emerald City on top of Forbes' list.

"By its nature, this is a protean industry; the mix of jobs and favored locales tend to change. If the current boom in social media continues, for example, the Bay Area could recover more of its lost jobs and further extend its primacy. Similarly a surge in manufacturing and energy-related technology could be a boon to tech in Houston, Dallas as well as New Orleans," Forbes said. "But based on both historic and recent trends, the surest best for future growth still stands with our top five winners, led by the rain-drenched, but prospering Seattle region."

To determine the best cities for high-tech jobs, we looked at the latest high-tech employment data collected by EMSI, an economic modeling firm. The Praxis Strategy Group's Mark Schill charted those areas that have gained the most manufacturing, software and services jobs over the past 10 years, equally weighting the last five years and the last two. We also included measures of concentration of tech employment in order to make sure we were not giving too much credence to relatively insignificant tech regions. Our definition of high tech industries is based on the one used by TechAmerica, the industry's largest trade association.